161 
put any part of that plant to your mouth, my child, 
for it is very poisonous.” The Stramonium said 
this was true, to be sure, but for medicine she was 
useful. Her name, she confessed, meant mad ap¬ 
ple, because her fruit, when eaten carelessly, pro¬ 
duced terrible effects upon the brain. Mary thought 
again that she must not judge by appearances. 
Close by the Stramonium stood a tall Mustard 
Plant covered with yellow flowers. It was not very 
pretty, but the Mustard Plant knew her seeds were 
good to eat, and she nodded very familiarly at Mary, 
as much as to say, “ you and I know each other 
very well. I can peep at you every day out of the 
mustard pot at dinner time.” 
The pretty pink-white bells of the Apocynum 
were open too. They told Mary they were some¬ 
times called Dog’s bane, because dogs were poi¬ 
soned by them, but that the Indians were not afraid 
11 
